Winter Walks

Northfield’s Winter Walk took on an interesting twist for me this year. The children’s book author Kate DiCamillo was at our local bookstore, Content, for a book signing. I invited my daughter-in-love to come join me for Winter Walk, to meet and greet this author, who I knew was a favorite of hers.

First, my daughter-in-love and I went out for a nice dinner at a local restaurant, Reunion, and then we got in line for the book signing at Content. We were assigned a wait list number, which worked well and we didn’t have to wait long. It was a brief encounter, but sweet.

Understandably, Kate DiCamillo was masked which doesn’t make for lovely photos, but she was very gracious, and a joy to meet. (It was interesting to learn from Wikipedia that this beloved and award-winning children’s author received 473 rejection letters before her first book was published!)

After shopping a bit in the children’s section of Content, we meandered along the closed-off main street lined with luminaries; going in and out of the stores, checking out the model trains at the library, waiting in line for a quick horse-drawn wagon ride, and hearing different groups playing or singing Christmas music.

The weather was mild, and the lights and crowds made it festive.

Also, last week I took another walk along Central Park in Faribault. It was lined with creative and artsy Christmas trees.

The Christmas trees are decorated by local businesses, then donated to families who might not be able to afford a Christmas tree and decorations this year. For more about this event visit MN Prairie Roots…click here.

The Christmas trees are put on display in Central Park for a few days before they are given away. It’s a fun idea, and a benefit to others.

I especially enjoyed seeing the different tree toppers.  

It’s beginning to feel a lot like Christmas.